Helga Halldórsdóttir
Certified travel blogger
My blogs
The settler’s farm and vicarage at Borg
History is all around us ! About 4 km outside Borgarnes and our houses is the church and vicarage at Borg. The church and houses are stately standing at end of shallow creek called Borgarvogur. Creeks like that are very shallow and becomes dry during low tide. The view is beautiful across the creek to Borgarnes and the mountain. At Borg has long been a major farm and the church has been there since Christianity was adopted in 1002. Famous farmers have lived there since during the early centuries. The present church was built in 1880. It seems to form a beautiful and stylish building and tak
A mountain and a movie star
Hike on mount Hafnarfjall in west Iceland – it´s a mountain and a movie star. This amazing picture is by KJ Photography. I watch it every day out of my window in Borgarnes when I drive past it on my way to the capital Reykjavík. I also climb it on a sunny day in the summer and admire the endless view from the top. Many people climb all seven peaks. The highest one is 844 m but the mountain has several hiking trails. I take a short walk up to it´s hills when I need to clear my head and get some fresh air. My mountain is always there, beautiful and respectable. It has stood here for
Bird watching in Iceland
We are all some kind of bird ! It is something peaceful about watching birds. Time somehow stands still. Bird watching is becoming more and more popular in Iceland. The country plays a bigger role every year for many species as here are large numbers of homelands and protected areas like Lake Mývatn and the national parks. The moorlands are very important nature reserve. We have seen how the drainage of wetlands changes the natural environment but hopefully we are on the right track again, protecting the country and it´s feathered residents. Large numbers of birds nest in Iceland, both m
Icelandic turf houses
The roof over our head I am a huge fan of old traditions in Iceland and have often wondered and admired how our ancestors lived all these long periods of dark ages, with eruptions and cold weather. Through the centuries the history of building houses in Iceland deals mainly with various types of turf farmhouse. Before concrete took over around 1900, turf, stone and wood were the main construction materials used here. The timber was either driftwood or imported wood. Houses built from these materials are rather short-lived so that there are not many examples left. With the aid of literary
Mýrar on fire
When wetland area went up in fire 2006 Inhabitants in the Mýrar area and Borgarnes now remember that there are almost 8 years since a large grass fire burned down area around 67 square kilometres in March 30th to April 1st in 2006. This fire is the largest one ever recorded since Iceland was settled. The fire went 14 km from the starting point down to the sea in few hours. The fires were visible on satellite from Iceland. Now some people may ask how can a wetland like this go up in fire? Dry season and much wind turned a small fire in to a destructive monster. The area has one of the ol
Geothermal Power From Deildartunguhver Hot Spring
Meet the forces of nature in Borgarfjörður - West Iceland. Growing up in Iceland in the late 20th century was a privilege that I am very grateful for. In many parts of our country we can use the amazing energy that comes from our waterfalls or from under the earth´s crust, the geothermal power. Whenever I turn on the lights or have my bath water running in my house I keep in mind that this is a valuable resource. The biggest (pr liter) hot spring in Europe, Deildartunguhver, is 35 km from Egils Guesthouse in Borgarnes at road nr. 50. It is easy to spot because of the steam and there is a
Craters and lava in Borgarfjörður area
Beautiful Icelandic winter weather! Went hiking on Grábrók crater one morning in Norðurárdal valley. What a beautiful view over the lava and up to the mountains. One of my favorite place´s. The wind was fresh as always this morning coming from the Langjökull and Eiríksjökull glaciers. One of the days when I thank God for having few extra kilos...I know a lady in the valley that one day stumbled and fell down on her nose. When she stood up again she realized that the wind had stopped! It was so normal for her to struggle against the wind in the valley she did not notice when it stopped! Do
My blogs
The settler’s farm and vicarage at Borg
History is all around us ! About 4 km outside Borgarnes and our houses is the church and vicarage at Borg. The church and houses are stately standing at end of shallow creek called Borgarvogur. Creeks like that are very shallow and becomes dry during low tide. The view is beautiful across the creek to Borgarnes and the mountain. At Borg has long been a major farm and the church has been there since Christianity was adopted in 1002. Famous farmers have lived there since during the early centuries. The present church was built in 1880. It seems to form a beautiful and stylish building and tak
A mountain and a movie star
Hike on mount Hafnarfjall in west Iceland – it´s a mountain and a movie star. This amazing picture is by KJ Photography. I watch it every day out of my window in Borgarnes when I drive past it on my way to the capital Reykjavík. I also climb it on a sunny day in the summer and admire the endless view from the top. Many people climb all seven peaks. The highest one is 844 m but the mountain has several hiking trails. I take a short walk up to it´s hills when I need to clear my head and get some fresh air. My mountain is always there, beautiful and respectable. It has stood here for
Bird watching in Iceland
We are all some kind of bird ! It is something peaceful about watching birds. Time somehow stands still. Bird watching is becoming more and more popular in Iceland. The country plays a bigger role every year for many species as here are large numbers of homelands and protected areas like Lake Mývatn and the national parks. The moorlands are very important nature reserve. We have seen how the drainage of wetlands changes the natural environment but hopefully we are on the right track again, protecting the country and it´s feathered residents. Large numbers of birds nest in Iceland, both m
Icelandic turf houses
The roof over our head I am a huge fan of old traditions in Iceland and have often wondered and admired how our ancestors lived all these long periods of dark ages, with eruptions and cold weather. Through the centuries the history of building houses in Iceland deals mainly with various types of turf farmhouse. Before concrete took over around 1900, turf, stone and wood were the main construction materials used here. The timber was either driftwood or imported wood. Houses built from these materials are rather short-lived so that there are not many examples left. With the aid of literary
Mýrar on fire
When wetland area went up in fire 2006 Inhabitants in the Mýrar area and Borgarnes now remember that there are almost 8 years since a large grass fire burned down area around 67 square kilometres in March 30th to April 1st in 2006. This fire is the largest one ever recorded since Iceland was settled. The fire went 14 km from the starting point down to the sea in few hours. The fires were visible on satellite from Iceland. Now some people may ask how can a wetland like this go up in fire? Dry season and much wind turned a small fire in to a destructive monster. The area has one of the ol
Geothermal Power From Deildartunguhver Hot Spring
Meet the forces of nature in Borgarfjörður - West Iceland. Growing up in Iceland in the late 20th century was a privilege that I am very grateful for. In many parts of our country we can use the amazing energy that comes from our waterfalls or from under the earth´s crust, the geothermal power. Whenever I turn on the lights or have my bath water running in my house I keep in mind that this is a valuable resource. The biggest (pr liter) hot spring in Europe, Deildartunguhver, is 35 km from Egils Guesthouse in Borgarnes at road nr. 50. It is easy to spot because of the steam and there is a
Craters and lava in Borgarfjörður area
Beautiful Icelandic winter weather! Went hiking on Grábrók crater one morning in Norðurárdal valley. What a beautiful view over the lava and up to the mountains. One of my favorite place´s. The wind was fresh as always this morning coming from the Langjökull and Eiríksjökull glaciers. One of the days when I thank God for having few extra kilos...I know a lady in the valley that one day stumbled and fell down on her nose. When she stood up again she realized that the wind had stopped! It was so normal for her to struggle against the wind in the valley she did not notice when it stopped! Do
Photos by me
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